Stock-cutting machine



@ct. 30, 1923; LMZAQS E. E. WNKLEY STOCK CUTTING MACHINE Filed Dec. 5, 1919 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 @Uiim g 172762221022 E. E. .W|NKLEY Filed Dec. j 't 5- flaw..- M... .4

E. E. WINKLEY STOCK CUTTING MACHINE Filed Dec. 5, 1919 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 E. E. WINKLEY STOEK CUTTING MACHINE 7 Filed Dec. 5, 1919 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 mwmfzm Patented @ct. 3Q, 1923.

EBASTUS E. WINKLEY, 0F LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOB T0 UNITED SHOE MA- CHINERY CORPORATION, OF.PATEF.SON, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEV] JERSEY.

swoon-Corrine MACHINE.

Application filed December 5, 1919. Serial no; 342,656.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, ERASTUS E. VVINKLEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Lynn, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Stock-Cutting Machines; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to stock-cutting machines and more particularly to machines known in the art as heel-lift dinking machines.

Letters Patent No. 1,291,726, granted Jan. 21, 1919, to William C. Baxter, and assigned to the United Shoe Machinery Corporation, discloses and claims a machine for cuttin or dinking heel lifts from sheet material that is moved by successive feeding operations between the elements of the cutting mechanism. In the machine therein described a sheet or strip of material is fed horizontally across a die by means of a pair of intermittently actuated feed rolls and provision is made for locating dies of different sizes at the same distance from the rolls and for adjusting the length of feed in accordance with the size of the die employed. With this construction, inasmuch as the distance from the feed rolls to the die is always the same, irrespective of the size of die employed, provision is made for delaying the introduction of the stock between the feed rolls until after the start of their movement, whenever a die is employed which is wider than the distance from the die to the feed rolls, so as'to cause the stock to be fed flush with the near edge of the die by the first feed movement.

In order to accommodate the machine to,

dies of different widths, an initial adjust ment of the delaying means is requisite to secure the desired result.

One object of the present invention is to pro ide certain improvements in machines of the general character above described and to produce a simple, effective and reliable cutting or dinking machine and one which will insure the cutting of a perfect or complete lift from the leading end of each strip of stock fed thereto.

To this end one feature of the present invention contemplates the location of dies of different sizes in such positions with respect to the feed rolls that the distance from the .feed rolls to the nearer edge of the die will always hear the same relation to the width of the die employed, using the term width to designatev the dimension of the die which coincides with the direction of feed. By means of this arrangement no means for delaying the presentment of the stock to the feed rolls is necessary, and therefore, the preliminary adjustment incident thereto in the prior machine is obviated. It is preferred, however, to employ a gate for the purpose of preventing the stock from being forced between the feed rolls before the rolls start to rotate, and the gate and the feed rolls are so located with respect to each other and to the die that irrespective of the size of the die employed the gate may be opened. to admit the stock to the feed rolls coincidently with the start of the feed movement of the rolls.

Another object of the present invention is to prevent any possibility of cutting and feeding imperfect lifts or scrap into the chute which receives the lifts after they have been pushed through the die, and to insure the cutting of complete or perfect lifts only from the material fed to the cutting means.

With this object in view an auxiliary feeding device is provided, for imparting an additional feed movement to the last piece of a strip of stock after it has passed beyond the field of operations of the feed rolls, together with means which insures the operation of the auxiliary feeding device and the closing behind said piece of stock of the gate which controls the presentation to the feed rolls of a succeeding piece of stock. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, said means comprises a stop pin which is actuated, while one piece of material is being intermittently advanced by the main feeding means, to engage the succeeding piece of material after a predetermined number of cycles of the machine, so as to prevent the succeeding piece from butting against the rear end of the first piece during the remaining feed movements of the latter and thus interfering. with the operation of the gate and the auxiliary feeding means. The withdrawal of the stop in from the iece of material which it engages is controlled by the gate, the stop pin being withdrawn only after the closing tion also consists in the general arrangement of the machine and in certain devices and combinations of parts tending to. simplify and improve the. construction and mode of operation of cutting machines the advan tages of which will be obvious to. those skilled in the art from the following descrip tion. I

Acuttiug machine embodying the various features of the present invention is illustlated in the accompaning drawings, in which Figure 1 is a view in front elevation of the improved liftcutting machine; Fig. 2 is a plan view of the rear portion of a strip of stock illustrating the location thereonof the lift producing cuts; Fig. 3, is a plan view of the machine; F ig. t is a view in fifl'OlIli-Gltlittion of the mechanism. for controlling the operation of the stop pin; Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view of a portion of the mechanism ill strated in Fig. 4; Fig. 6 is a sectional "viewtaken substantiallyonthe line 6-6 of Fig. 1; Fig. 7 is'a perspective view of the strip guiding fingers; Fig. 8 is a detail .view illustrating a particularly the arrangement of the die, the die-stripper and the strip guiding fingers; Fig. 9 is a perspective view illustrating the manner in which the diestripper is mounted, the parts being shown in different planes from those they occupy in the machine for elearness of illustration; Fig. 10 is a detail view of a portion of the mechanism shown in Fig. 4; Fig. 11 is a detail plan view showing a die and a die holder of-modiiied construction; and Fig. 12 is a View in side elevation of the parts shown in Fig. 11.

The invention is illustrated as embodied in a -li-ft-cutting machine. the cutting and feeding mechanisins'of which have .the same general construction and mode of operation as that of the machine illustrated and described in Patent No. 1,291,726, previously referred to; In the present machine, however, the arrangement of the feedingniechanisrn is such as to. receive and feed sheet portions of the. feeding aiidcutting mechai ms w l e b i y d scri e-din th s pp cation. For a full and complete descriptermeshing bevel gears 18 (Fig. 1). with a horizontal shaft 20 that is also journaled in hearings in the head and is continuously driven by a belt pulley 22. Projecting from thetop, of the main shaft 14 is an eccentric pin 2:4 (Fig. 3;). which serves to. reciprocate a pittnan 26 that is connected to a plunger carryingat one end a holder 30. for .a cutting block-32. The plunger'28' reciprocates in a bearing 34: at the top of-sth machine, moving the cutting block 312 horizontallyinto and out of cooperative cutting relationwith a die The'diie 3.6 isopenat both ends so that the lifts cut by the die may p1'ogres-. sively pass. in stacked. formation through the die into a horizontal chute 38 which forms an extension thereof. With this arrangement the lifts may pass through the chute without any change in' their direction of movement so, that there is no danger-of the. lifts becoming jammed therein.

The material to be operated upon is fed to the cutting mechanism, "by means of a pair of toothedfeed rolls40and 42 (Figs. 1 and S) which are secured upon vertical shafts 44and dd, respectively and'are yieldingly pressed toward each other, as de scribed in patent above referred to, in order that they may cooperate to intermittently feed the material as it is introduced between them. The length of feed is adjusted .in accordance with the size of the die employed, so as to he justsufiicientto feedthe strip of stock to the farthercdgc of the die andto cause it to overlap said edge-only far enough to insure the cutting of complete lift from the stock but not far enough to cause any substantial amount of waste. In other words the length of feed is made equal to the width of the die employed plus the wi. h of the amount of scrap which is to be left between the lifts. andsiuce the width of the scrap is very small thelength of feed may he considered-to be substantially he term equal to the width of the die. widtliabove used and hereinafter appean ing in the specification and claims to be understood as designating the linaximuin dimension of the die which coincides with the direction offeed of-the stock irrespective of he rm 0 ge en he d The means for adjusting the length of the feed is. t a tha eases-t ee iii-th eatn he r es e to In steer tha th chine may operate upon sheets as well as strips of stock a pair of corrugated cutting disks 4:8 and are secured upon the respective shafts 44 and 4:6 and serve to separate the material from which the lifts are immediately to be died, from the sheet as the cutting operation proceeds. Hereinafter, for the sake of brevity and uniformity, the machine will be described as operating upon strips rather than upon sheets of material.

The die 36 is clamped on a die-holder (Fig. 8) between an abutment '54 and a clamp member 56. The die-holder 52 is substantially circular in outline and is provided with a concentric circular shoulder 58 which is seated in a circular opening in the head 10. The die-holder 52 is further provided with a bevelled clamping surface 60 that is adapted to be engaged by the cor respondingly bevelled end of a clamping yoke 62 (Figs. 1 and 3) which is held in clamping position by 'a screw 64.

The present invention contemplates the arrangement of the die in the machine so that the distance from the feed rolls to the nearer edge of the die will always bear the same relation to the width of the die irrespective of the size of die employed, this distance being slightly less, in each case, than the width of the die. In order that this arrangement of the die may be effected with facility and accuracy, a plurality of interchangeable die-holders is provided and a different sized die is secured in place on each of the die-holders at a different distance from the center thereof, before the holders are furnished to the operator, said distance varying directly with the width of the respective dies and the location being such that when the die-holder is seated in the head of the machine and clamped in place, the die carried thereby will be spaced the required distance from the feed rolls.

The material to be cut is guided to the feeding mechanism between vertical side members 66 and 68 (Figs. 1 and and the bottom edge of the material rests upon a horizontal support 70. As the material is fed into position across the die 36 the bottom edge of the material is supported and guided by an edge guide or gage 72 (Fig. 3) which mounted on a carrier 74 (Fig. 9) that is vieldingly supported to permit movement in the same plane as the cutting block 32, as described in the prior patenti so that while it is normally located in the path of the cutting block, it may he moved with the cutting block as the latter forces the stock into the die.

A die-stripper 76 (Figs. 3, 8 and 9), is provided for stripping the stock from the die as the cutting block returns after each cutting operation. The stripping edge 77 of the die-stripper 76 normally projects beyond the cutting edge of the die, in the path of the cutting block, and the die-stripper is also mounted on the carrier 7%, as shown in Fig. 9, in order that it may be moved yieldingly with the cutting block as the material is cut thereby and forced into the die and be returned to normal position upon the return movement of the cutting block, thereby stripping the stock from the die.

As shown in Figs. 8 and 9, the die-stripper 76 consists of an angle piece one leg of which is secured to the carrier 7% while the other leg thereof is acted uponby means hereinafter described which holds it yield ingly against the bevelled face of the die adjacent the cutting edge thereof. It will be seen that when the die-stripper 7 6 is moved with the cutting block upon the operative stroke of the latter, it is necessary on account of the bevelled face of the die against which the die-stripper is pressed, that the die-stripper be also permitted to move laterally away from the die a short distance. To this end the leg of the die-stripper wnich is secured to the carrier 74 is received in a groove 7 8 formed therein and is held loosely in the groove by means of the head of a screw 7 9 which extends through a longitudinal slot 80 in the stripper and into the carrier 7 a.

In order that the die-stripper 76 may automatically adjust itself laterally to dies of different sizes, it is yieldingly urged in the direction of the die at all times by means of a finger 82 (Figs. 8, 7 and 8) which is spring-pressed against the stripper and serves to guide the stock across the die. The guiding finger 82 is pivotally secured to an actuating arm 8e (Fig. by means of a pin 86 which extends through an ear 88 on said finger. The arm as is in turn pivoted upon a vertical. stud 90 projecting from a portion of the head 10 so that the arm 84 will swing horizontally. A coiled spring 92 acting upon the arm 84 tends to force the guiding finger 82 toward the die. The free end of. the guiding finger 82 is loosely sup- 7 ported in a notch 94 in the die-stripper 7 6. An angle piece 96 projecting from said free end of the guiding finger 82 engages the outer flat side of the die-stripper adjacent the notch 94. so that the stripper is yieldingly held against the bevelled edge of the die by the force of the spring 92 irrespective of the size of the die.

ll hen the stock is being fed toward the die, the guiding finger 8?. guides the stock across both the diestripper and the die. To this end, the guiding finger 82 is acted upon by a coiled spring 98 (Fig. 3) that is secured at one end to an extension of the car '88 and at its opposite end to an extension. of the arm '84:, the spring tending to swing theguiding finger so that its free end will move outwardly from the notch 94?. and the notch being of such dimensions that when the die-stripper is seated in the notch the guiding face-of the finger 82 is substantially flush with the stripping edge 77 of the stripper.

Cooperating with the guiding finger 82 is a s on gu ding finger .0 gs- 3, 7 nd 8) that is adapted to engage the opposite side of the stock as it is fed between said fingers. In order that the guiding finger 100v may be movable with the guiding finger 82 as the latter moves longitudinally to accommodate dies of different sizes, said finger 100 is carried by abracket 102 that is fastened to the finger 82. The finger 100 ispivoted on a pin 104 (Fig. 7) rising from the bracket 102 and is urged toward the finger 82 by a coiled spring 106, one end of which is secured to a pin 108. depending from the finger 100, and the oposite end to apin 110 projecting from the bracket 102. The bracket 102, as shown in Fig. 7 is substantially U-shaped to permit the material which is being fed to extend downwardly between the guiding fingers 82 and 100.

In addition to the above described features of construction, arrangement and mode ofoperation of the feeding and cutting means, further provision is made for insuring the cutting of a complete or per feet lift from the leading end of the stock. This means comprises a gate or stop 112 (Figs. 6 and 8) for preventing the stock from being forced manually between the feed rolls before the rolls start to rotate. The gate or stop 112 consists of a bar that is mounted to slide in a guideway 114 and is forked at one end to straddle the guiding finger 100. The gate 112 is movable into and out of the path of movement of the stock and when closed the forked end thereof presents shoulders .or abutments 115 (Fig. 6) which are substantially perpendicular to the plane of the stock and serve to temporarily stop the manual advance of.

a second piece of'stock approximately at the bite of the feed rolls, i. e.. at the point where the feed rolls grip the stock when the gate is opened. The stop shoulders of the gate are located forward of the vertical axial plane of the feed rolls a distance approximately equal to the width of the scrap to be allowed. between the cuts and they are located at a distance from the nearer edge of the die which is substantially equal to the width of the die. The gate 112 automaticallyopens so as to admit each piece of stock to the grip of the feed rolls coincidently with the start of the feeding movement of the rolls and automatically closes immediately after the piece has passed beyond the field of operations of the rolls. After the gate has been opened to admit a piece of stool; to the feed rolls it is held open by means .of the stock which is being fed past it. The opening of the gate is effected hy cam actuated mechanism, the

at the points shown, which are at a distance substantially equal to the width of the die from the nearer edge thereof, and which are also at points slightly forward of the vertical axial plane of the feed rolls and approximately where the rolls grip the sock when the gate is opened, it will be seen that the stock is fed a slightly shorter distance by the first feed movement of the feed rolls than by subsequent feed movements thereof. title the die arranged relatively to the feed rolls. as hereinbefore described, and the length of feed adjusted in accordance with the size of the die employed so as to be slightly in excess of the width of the die, it will be apparent thatthe first feed movement of the feed rolls will advance the stock approximately to the nearer edge of the die, without overlapping said edge so as to be subsequently cut into the die and that. each succeeding feed movement, until the last, will feed the stock far enough so that the leading end will just pass the farther edge of the die. If the machine should operate inaccurately, to the extent that a small amount of stock at the lead? ingend of the strip does overlap the die after the first feed movement has taken place and a small piece of scrap is cut into the die, it'wi-ll fall out ofthe die upon the withdrawal of the cutting block on account of the arrangement of the die with.

its cuttingedge. in a vertical plane.

The mechanism for opening the gate comprises a link 116v 6) pivotallv connected at one end to a lug 118 extending from the gate 112 through a slot in the guideway 114, and pivot-ally connected at its opposite end tov an" arm 120 on a rock shaft 122 that is iOurnaled in suitable hearings in the head,

said rock shaft being provided with another arm 124 carrying the roll 126, which to opera-tively engages an edge cam 128 on the main shaft 14. A spring 130 is coiled about the rock shaft 122. one end of the spring being fixed to the shaft and the opposite end to one of the bearings therefor, so that the spring will; hold the roll 126 against the cam 128 and at the same time tend to hold the gate 112 in operative position.

Inasmuch as it is not possible to locate the cooperating feeding surfaces of the feed rolls immediately adjacent the cutting edge Bylocating the shoulders 115 of the gate l of the die. it might happen after a piece of material has been nearly'iexhausted, that a complete lift would be left with its leading edge only part way across the die. Provision has accordinglybeen made. for moving this last piece of material so that the last end of the piece will be advanced into close proximity with the nearer edge of the die. In this way the scrap produced'by the cutting operation will be located at the farther side of the die instead of atthe nearerside, in which latter case it would be pushed to a position opposite to the die by the advance of the succeeding piece of stock and subsequently forced into the die by the cutting block. To this end, auxiliary feed ing means is pro ided comprising a pair of pusher fingers 132 (Figs. 1 and 3) which normally bear against one side of the stock but do not in any way cooperate with the normal feeding operations of the machine. The pusher fingers 132 are moved toward and from the die 86 at the completion of each feeding movement of the feed roll. In their extreme position away from the die the pusher fingers have their free ends so located that they may engage the rear edge of the last piece of stock to be fed across the die as this edge is released by the feed rolls and inasmuch as the pusher fingers 182 are oscillated only after the feeding movement of the feed rolls has ended they are enabled to spring into position behind the end of the last piece of the strip or sheet of material to give this piece an additional feed movement which will push it into position in the cutting mechanism. These fingers 132 are received in grooves 134 in the feed rolls (Fig. 8) and extend through notches 136 in the stripper member 78. The grooves 134 in the feedroll farthest from the cutting block are deep enough so that when the stock is passing between the feed rolls the fingers 132 may be pressed into the slots against the tension of a'spring 188 (Fig. 3) that is connected to an arm 140 which is f-o 'ined integrally with the pusher fingers. The fingers 132 are pivoted at142 (Fig. 3) upon an oscillating supporting arm 144 that is fulcrumed at 146 upon a bracket 148 on the side of the die support, the supporting arm 144 being oscillated at each cycle of operations of the machine to move the pusher fingers toward and away from the die 36 by suitable connections to the main driving shaft.

It is obvious that if it were possible for the operator to keep a second strip of material so closely following the rear end of the strip which is being operated upon by the cutting meansthat the auxiliary feeding device would be prevented from engaging said rearend, the last mentioned strip would not be given the necessary additional feed movement above referred to and the gate would not be permitted to close in front of the succeeding strip. Accordingly if a strip of stock passes beyond the field of operations of the main feeding .mech' anism which is more than large enough to produce a single complete lift, an incomplete or imperfect lift will be cut and forced into the die upon the occurrence of the second successive cutting operation thereafter, said lift consisting of the waste portion at the rear end of the first strip and a portion of the forward end of the succeeding strip.

In order to prevent a second strip of material from following so closely the strip which is being operated upon by the cutting mechanism that the pusher lingers 132 and the gate 112 will be prevented from operat ing, with the result that an incomplete lift may be cut into the die, a stop pin 150 is provided (Fig. 6), together with actuating mechanism therefor, whereby the stop pin is caused to penetrate the succeeding strip of stock for the purpose of arresting its advancing movement. In other words the incoming piece of stool: is automatically spaced the proper distance from the end of the preceding piece of stock, although it is presented in abutting relation tosaid preceding piece of stock by the operator. Means is also provided for timing the penetrative movement of the stop pin so that it will occur after the machine has performed a predetermined number of cycles of operations and a predetermined number of lifts have been cut from the strip of material which is'b-eing operated upon. .The number of cuts required for cutting across the strips of material which are to be operated upon is preliminarily ascertained by the operator and the stop pin actuating mechanism is then set to cause the stop pin to be actuated during a cycle of operations of the machine preceding the cycle in which the last lift is cut from the strip being operated upon. Preferably the stop pin is operated during that cycle which immediately precedes the one which produces the last lift from the strip. Ti' hen actuated, the stop pin holds the second strip from following the rear end of the. first strip, thus permitting the pusher fingers 132 to engage and advance the last piece of said first strip and allow the gate 112 to close behind it in order that it may perform its function upon said second strip after the latter has been released by the stop pin.

As shown in Fig. 6, the stop pin 150 consists of a pointed prong projecting from the end of a rod 154 which is adapted to reciprocate in a bearing 156 that is secured to llD the large end of the rod, and a collar 166 is secured to the free end of the shank portion 158' just beyond the sleeve 1'60. Normally the stop pin is held retracted from tl'ie'p'ath of the stock which is being fed to the die by means of a coiled spring 168, one end of which is secured to a pin 170 projecting from the bearing 156, and

the-opposite end of which is fastened to a pin 172 projecting from the large end of the rod 154 and extending through a slot 17 4 that is formed at the adjacent end of the bearing 156, the pm 172 serving .by engagement with the inner end of the slot 1741c limit the retractionof the stop pin.

a pair of pins 176, which project outwardly from opposite sides oft-he sleeve 160 and extend through slots 17 8 in the bearing 156, are received in slots that are formed in the opposite sides of the forked arm .182 of a bell crank lever 184. The bell crank lever 184 is secured to a vertical rock shaft 186 that is journaled in hearings in top and bottom supporting plates 188 and 190. The,

other arm 192 of the bell'crank lever 184 is rigidly connected by a vertical rod 194 with an arm 196 thatispinned to the bottom of the shaft 186. The rod 194 isactuated to turn the shaft 186. and the bell crank lever 184, by means of a lever 198 which is rotatabiy and slidably mounted on the shaft'186, the lever having a downward- 1y extending hub 200 5) encircling the shaft 186 below the bum-an: lever 184 and an upwardly offset portion 202 having an opening above the said cell crank lever through which the shaft 186 extends.

The lever 198 is supported during the feedingof a sheet of material to the cutting mechanism by means of a follower arm 204 on'which the lever 198 rests and which comprises a portion of the means for timing the penetrative movement of the stop pin. 'The' follower arm 204 is provided at its freeend with internal thread, segments adapted to engage with screw threads 206 externally formed 'on a sleeve 208 that is fastened to a vertical shaft 210 which is journaled in hearings in the top and bottom plates 188 and .The follower arm 204 is loosely mounted, as shown in Fig. 5, upon the hub 200 depending from the lever 198 and is confined between the under side of the lever and a collar 214 that is secured to saidlinb,

A coiled spring 216 encircles the hub of the follower arm 204 and presses it toward the.

screw 206 to maintain the arm in operative engagement with the screw threads. shaft'2l0l is driven continuously during the operation of the m'achine through inter} meshing spur gears 218 and QIQONVlIlClI are The secured to the shaft 210 and to, the main shaft 14 respectively, and thescrew 206 is rotated in the direction of the arrow (Fig.6)

to raise t-he foll'ower arm 204 and bring the lever198 into the pathof a roller 222 on a; crank arm 224 which is secured to the'sliaft 210 and by which thelever 198'is engaged arm 192-ofthe bell crank lever 184 so that when the bell crank lever is swung into oper ative position a shoulder 235 on the latch 228 will move behind said lug to. prevent said b'ell crank lever from returning to its normal position. With the second piece of stock thusheld by the stop pin 1 50 thepreceding piece is advanced beyond the field of operations of the feed rolls and the gate 112 automatically closes behind it.

As the'lever 198 is oscillated by "the crank arm 224 to actuate the stop pin 150 it acts through a lug 236 which it engages on the follower arm 204 to swing the-follower arm out of engagement with the screw 206. After beingthus disengaged from the screw 206, nearer 198 drops back to its normal vertical position on the shaft. The downward movement of the lever 198 on the shaft is limited by means of a stop device consist-'- ing of a bell crank lever 238 (Fig. 4) and that is adapted to turn in bearings on the top plate 188. ,A spring 252one end .of which is secured to the longer arm of the bell crank lever 238 and the opposite end of which is secured to a screw 256 in the bottom plate 190, pulls downwardlj on said arm with a'force varying with the adjustmentof the screw 'and'tends to hold the projection 250 against the cain'240.

The stop pin 150 is automaticallyfretract ed in time to permit the second piece of st cl; to be advanced against the gate 112 before the gate is again opened. To this end an arm 258 (Fig. 6) projects from the link 116 to a position adjacent a lug 260 on the latch 228, and when the gate 112 returns to operative position upon the final advancing movement of the piece of stock which is being operated upon, the arm 258 is moved to the leftin Fig. 6, tripping the latch 228 and permittim the spring 168 to withdraw the stop pin from tl e succeeding piece of stock.

In order that the means for timing the penctratin movementof the stop pin may not be rendered operative again until the new piece ofstochln been introduced between the feed rolls, provision is made for holding the follower arm 204i out of engagement with the screw 206 after the stop pin 150 has been withdrawn from the stock and the lever 198 been swung back to its normal radial position on the shaft 186. This means comprises latch 262 (Figs. l, 6 and 10) which is pivotally mounted for horizontal swinging movement between the opposite arms 26% of a yoke member 266 (Fig. 10) which is also pivotally mounted for horizontal swinging movement between the bottom plate 190 and a boss 268 depending from the top plate 188, said arms 264- having hubs 2T0 projecting outwardly therefrom which receive pivot pins 272 projecting from the boss 268 and from the bottom plate 190. The latch 262 romprises a blade with a vertically disposed edge 274 which is adapted to cooperate with an arm 276 (Fig. 6) projecting substantially at right-angles to the follower arm 204:, so that the two arms 20% and 276 constitute a bell crank lever, and the latch 262 is acted upon by a leaf spring 278 that is secured to the yoke member 266, the spring tending to swing the latch into engageinent with a stop lug 280 on one of the arms 269i.

During the normal operation of the machine the latch 262 is held, by means of the arm 216 in the position indicated in Fig. 6

but upon the disengagement of the follower arm 20l from the screw 206the latch 262 is moved by the spring 278 into position against the stop lug 280 and behind the end of the arm 276, the vertical edge 274: of the latch engaging a flat surface at the end of the arm 27 6 and preventing the arm from returning toward the left in Fig. 6, under the influence of the spring 216.

After being released by the stop pin 150 the piece of stock previously held thereby may be advanced manually in the direction of the feeding mechanism only so far as permitted by the gate 112 which is then in operative position in the path of movement of the stock; The operator by pushthe end of the stock against the gate lilil'i'illi'f-i to the stock a tendency to move the slight distance which is necessary to bring it into the field of operations of the feed rolls and immediately upon the complete withdrawal of the gate the stock is presented to the feed rolls.

It is necessary in order properly to time the engagement of the stop pin 150 with the succeeding piece of stock, that the follower arm 20st, which has been disengaged from the screw 206, shall be returned into engagement therewith at the start of the feed ing operations upon a new strip. To this end the following provision is made for disengaging the latch 262 from the arm 276. The pivoted end of the latch 262 is periodically oscillated about the pivots of the yoke member 266 by means of an arm 282 projecting from the yoke member 266 and carrying a roll 28% which is adapted to be engaged by the edge cam 128. The cam roll 284* is held against the cam 1.28 by a spring 286 (Figs. 4 and 10) one end of the spring being fixed to the hub 270 of the yoke member'266 and the other end to the boss 268 on the top plate 188.

A lug 288 projects from the latch 262 and normally oscillates idly with the latch. hen, however, the gate 112 is retracted to admit a new strip to the feed rolls, the opposite end of the gate bar is moved into the path of oscillation of the lug 288 and when said lug strikes the end of the gate said end serves as fulcrum about which the latch is rocked (in a counter clockwise direction in 6) so as to swing the vertical edge 27a of the latch out of engagement with the.

arm 276, thus permitting the follower arm 20a to be returned by the spring 216 into engagement with the screw threads 206.

The number of cutting operations which will be performed before the stop pin 150 is actuated to arrest the feed of the piece of stock following the piece that is being operated upon, is determined by the number of turns in the thread of the screw 206 be tween the follower arm 20a and the top of the screw. The stop pin 150 is actuated to engage the second piece of stock before the last lift is cut from the preceding piece thereby preventing the butting of the second piece against the first piece during the final feed movement of the latter and permitting the auxiliary pusher lingers and the gate to operate. 7

In order that the stop pin 150 may be operated after the required number of cutting operations have been performed, provision is made for adjusting the radial po-v sition of the edge cam 240. To this end acrank arm 290 is secured to the top of the shaft 2&2 to which the cam is secured, and the crank arm is provided with a handle 292 and a suitable detent 294 which is pressed downwardly in any suitable manner so as to engage with a series of holes 296 in a gage plate 298 which is secured to the top plate 188. The holes 296 are so spaced'apart on the gage plate 298 that by turning the handle 292 from one to another the'norma'l position of the 'follower ari-n 204: may be shifted from one turn of the screw thread 200 toa'nother turn thereof. It will he observed that the vertical edge 2-74 of the latch tlflextends through-such a distance that the tolloxve'r arm 204 is held in its disengaged p'ositioi'i at any point wlthin its range of tidal movement. The operator having ertained the number of cuts required for cutting'across the sheet of material wl-iich. is to be operated upon, sets the stop pin actuating mechanism by turning the handle 202 until the dete'nt 294 engages the proper hole in the gage plate208 to cause the stop pin to be actuated during the de sired cycleb'f operations of the machine preceding the final cycle. I

Fits 11 and 1'2 illustrate a die and dieholder of modified construction w "'11 may he adopted for the purpose of permittii rg the insertion of dies of different sizes in a single die-holder and thus avoiding; the necessity of providing a separate die-holder for each of the various sizes of dies employed. A's therein shown, a die 300 is formed with a flat rim 302 projecting outw rdly from its base parallel to the plane of the cutting edge of the die, the rim e:( tending; entirely around the die and having a rectangular marginal contour. -he die 300 is adjustably secured upon a pair of die-supporting plates 304 which are in turn adjusta'bly secured upon a die-holder 305. To this end th'eplates 304: are each provided with shoulders 308 which are adapted to enopposite edges of the rim 309, so as tofol'lfi ne thedie between said shoulders and the plates are secured to the die-holder with provision for adjustment toward and from each other so that the shoulders 308 may be positioned to accommodate dies of dille'rent sizes. 'lhe means for adjustably securing each plate 304 to the die-holder comprises a bolt 310 which projects "from the die-holder 806, LXtGlNllllg' through a slot. 312 in the pin to 30%, and is iirtwided with a nut 3l hwhich engages the outer faceof the plate and clamps the plate against the die carrier. Each plate 304- is guided, as it is adjusted, by rneans of a lug 316 (Fig. 12) which projects from the plate into a slot 318 in the die carrier 306extendin g at right angles to the shoulder 308, the hugand slot cooperating to.

maintain the shoulders 308 in parallelism with'each other. The plates 304 are cut away at 319 to permit the lifts cut by the die to pass through the die and into a suitable chute or receiver. In order that the die 300 may be clamped in adjustedposition on the supporting pla'tes30e, each plate 304- is provided with a bolt 320, projecting outmasses w'ardly adjacent the shoulder 3'08 and having a washer 322 and nut 32% thereon, the washer 322' overlapping the rim 302 of the die 300 and being forced against the rim by the nut' see so as to clamp the rim against the'pl'ate 804C. 7

With the above described construction and arrangement of the die-holder 306, the die supporting" plates 30 i and the die300, it

will be seen that dies of different sizes may he readily inserted in the die-holder so that it is necessary to furnish only one die-holder for the difi er'ent dies employed. The dieh'older 306 is adapted tobe' placed in position in the machine in the same manner as the die-holder 52 hereinbelfore described, and the arrangement of the plates 304;upon the die-holder 306 is such that the shoulders 308 I that this construction is not essential except so far as specified in the-claims, and may be changed'or modified without departing. from the broadcrfeatureso'f the invention.

The invention having been described, what is claimed is 1. A stock-cutting machine having, in combination means for. feeding thestoclr in a series or steps, cuttingmeansfor'successively cutting blanks from the stock as it 'is-fed, and means acting in conjunction with said feeding and cutting means for controlling in a positive manner the introduction of the incoming stock withrelation to the preceding piece of stock and thus insuring the cutting of perfect blanks at the extreme forwardand rear ends of the stock.

2. A stock-cutting machine having, in

combination, feed rolls for feeding the stock in a series of steps, actuating means for the feed rolls adjustable to vary the'len'gth of feed of the stoclga stop arranged adjacent the bite of the feed. rolls and normally operative to prevent the introduction of the stock between the rolls and cutting means includinga die spaced from said stop adista-nce substantially equal to the length of the feed and the width of the die for successively; cutting blanks from. the stock as it is fed.

3; A stock-cutting machine having, in combination, means comprising teed rolls for feeding the stock in a series of steps, actuating means for the teed rolls adjustable to vary the length of feed of the stock, cutting means including a die spaced from the feed rolls a distance substantially equal to the length of the feed and the width of the die for successively cutting blanks from the stock as it is fed, and means acting in conjunction with said feeding and cutting means for determining the time of introduction of the incoming stock to position it properly with respect to both the preceding piece of stock and the die thus insuring the cutting of perfect blanks at the extreme forward and rear ends oft-he stock.

4. A stock-cutting machine having, in combination, means for supporting a piece of stock, means for controlling and feeding the stock, means for successively cutting blanks from the stock as it is fed, said controlling and advancing means and said cutting means being constructed and arranged to engage anc hold the incoming stock for a predetermined period to space said piece of stock properly with respect to the preceding piece so that the incoming stock may be controlled to insure the cutting of a perfeet blank at the leading end of the stock, and means cooperating with said first means for insuring the cutting or" a perfect blank at the extreme rear end thereof.

5. A stock-cutting machine having, in

combination, a pair of feed rolls for ad-' vancing the stock in a series of steps, and cutting means for successively cutting blanks from the stock as it 1-8 advanced, said rutting means including one of a plurality of interchangeable dieholders each having a die oi": a different size so positioned thereon that when a particular die-holder is used in the machine its die will be located at a distance from the common axial plane of the feed rolls substantially equal to the width of said die.

6. A stock-cutting machine having, in combination, a pair of feed rolls for ad- VilIlClng the stock in a series of steps, cutting means forv successively cutting blanks from the stock as it is advanced, said cut ting means including one of a plurality of interchangeable die-holders each having a die of a diilereut size so positioned thereon that when particular die-holder is used in the machine its. die will be located at a distance from the common axial plane of the feed rolls substantially equal to the width of sad die, and means acting in conjunction with said feeding and cutting means for determining the time of introduction of the incoming piece of stock and thus insur'n the cutting of perfect blanks at both ends of the stock.

7. A, stoclncutting machine for operating upon, successive strips of stock having, in combination, means for supporting a strip of stock, means for feeding said strip,

means for cuttingblanks successively from said strip as it isfed, means for supporting a second strip While it is advanced in butting end-to-end relation with the first strip, and means acting in conjunction with said cutting and feeding means for spacing the piece-s of stock presented in butting endto-end relation by the operator thus insuring the cutting of a perfect blank at the extreme end of each strip.

8. A stock-cutting machine having, in combination, a pair of feed rolls for imparting successive feed movements to the stock and adapted to be adjusted to vary the length of the feed movements, and means fo receiving and locating in the machine one of a plurality'of interchangeable die-holders each having a die of a difierent size so positioned thereon that when a particular die-holder is used in the machine its die will be located at a distance from the common axial plane of the feed rolls equal to the width of said die, whereby the machine may be set by adjusting the length of feed and selectively using the interchangeable dieholders to out a perfect blank at the leading end of the stock irrespective of the size of die employed.

9. A stock-cutting machine having, in combination, cutting means comprising one of a plurality of different sized dies adapted to be interchangeablyreceived in the machine, a pair of feed rolls for advancing the stock across the die, and means for supporting the die so that irrespective of the size of the particular die used, the distance from the nearer cutting edge thereof will be substantially equal to the width of said die.

10. A stock-cutting machine having, in combination,v a pair of feed rolls, and cutting mechanism including one of a plurality of interchangeable unitary structures, each comprising a die-holder and a die ri 'id- 1y secured thereto, the dies being difierently located on their respectivedie-holders so that by selectively using said unitary structures the dies may be positioned in the machine at different distances from the feed rolls. o

11. A, stock-cutting vmachine having, in combination, feed rolls for feeding a strip o1 stock, means including a die for successively cutting blanks from the stock as it is fed, a (lie-support adjustable toward and from the feed rolls, and an auxiliary feed device arranged to engage the strip after it has passed beyond the feed rolls and movable through distances varying in accordance with the location of the die-support to feed the strip across the die until its rear extremity is advanced substantially to the near edge of the die.

12. A stock-cutting machine having, in

to the common axial plane of the feed rolls ombi ation, cutting mea c ud n a a pair of feed rolls for feeding the stock to the die, said rolls being arranged with their axes in a plane at a distance from the nearer cutting edge of the die slightly less than the width of the die and adapted to impart feed movements to the stock slightly greater than the width of the die, a gate located forward of the axial plane of the feed rolls and approximately at a distance from said edge of the die equal to the width of the die, and means for opening the gate to admit the stock to the grip of the feed rolls atthe start ofjthe first feedmovement thereof.

,13. A stock-cntting machine having, in combination, a pair of .feed rolls for advancing the stock by a series of steps, cutting means comprising a die, and a gate normally closed to prevent the introduction of the'stock to the feed rolls and adapted to be opened coincidently with the start of the feed movement ofthe rolls to admit the stock to the rolls, the gate and the feed rolls being s-o constructed and so arranged with respect to the die thatthe stock will be advanced only to the nearer edge of the die at the first feed movement so as to avoid the cutting of scrapintothe die.

1a. The combination in a stock-cutting machine adapted to interchangeably.receive dies of different sizes, of a die, a die-stripper located adjacent the die, and means permitting the die-stripper to automatically ad-,

just itself to dies of different sizes.

7 15. The combinatio in a stock-cutting machine of a die having bevelled outer face adjacent its cutting edge, a cutting block adapted to cooperate with the die to out the stock, and a die-stripper in contact with said face and normally projecting beyond said cutting edge into the field of op erations of the cutting block, the die-stripper being mounted to permit yielding movement in a. direction parallel to the axial length of the die and laterally away from the die.

16. The combination in a stock-cutting machine adapted to interchangeably receive cally adjust itself to dies, of di'lferent sizesI 18. The combination ina stock cntting memos located adjacent the die and adapted for lateral movement toward and from the die to accommodate dies of diiferent sizes, a member for guiding the stock across the die said member being yieldingly, held in engagement with the stripper to force the stripper. against the die. 7

2.0. A; stock-cutting inachine having, in combinatioinfeed rollsfor advancing pieces of stock successively presented thereto, a gat for c 1:rol ng he p s ntati n c t stock to the feed rolls, cutting means for successively cutting blanks from the stock as it is fed, and means for preventing a succeeding piece of stock from following the preceding piece so closely as to interferewith the operation of the gate. 1

21. stock-cutting machine having, in combination, feed rolls for advancingpieqes of stock successively presentedthereto, cut ting means for successively cutting blanks from the stock as it fed, anauxiliary feed device for engaging the rear end of the sto k after it has passed beyond the fieldolf operations of said feeding means and pushing it toward the cutting mea ns, and means for preventing asucceeding piece of stoch from following thepreceding piece so closely as to prevent the operation of said auxiliary feed device.

22. A stock-cutting machine having. in V combination, feed rolls for advancingpieces of stock successively present-ed thereto, .a

gate for controlling the presentation of the stock to the feed rolls, cutting means for successively cutting blanks from the stock as it is fed, an auxiliary feed device for ,engaging the rear end ofthe stool: after has passed beyond the field ofoperations o fthc feed rolls and pushingit toward said cut? ting means, and u'ieans for preventing a suc ceeding piece of stock from following the preceding piece so closely that the gate and the mixiliary feed device are, prevented from operating. Y

i 23, A stock-cutting niachinehaving, in combination, cutting means; means ,for 4 feed ing stock to -the. cutting means, an auxiliary feed member forengagingflthe end of the pushing it toward said-cutting means, a

stock after it leaves said feeding means and ioldin'q device: for p reventingithe advance a e e c p ee e tce i em int rfa ing with the operation of said auxiliary feed holding device for preventing a second piece of stock from following the preceding piece so closely as to prevent said auxiliary feed member from operating, means for controlling the time of operation of the holding means, and means for rendering the holding means inactive.

25. A stock-cutting machine having, in combination, cutting means, means for intermittently feeding sheet material to the cutting means, a pusher for engaging the end of the material as it leaves said feeding means and pushing it to the cutting means, a holding device for preventing a second piece of material from butting the preceding piece when it is ready to be engaged by said pusher, a. timing device for controlling the operation of the holding device, means for varying the setting of the timing device, and means for releasing the holding device.

26. A stock-cutting machine having, in combination, cutting means, means for feeding pieces of stock to the! cutting means, an auxiliary feed member for engaging the rear end of the stock and imparting an additional feed movement thereto after it has passed beyond the field of operations of said feeding means, and means operating after the performance of a predetermined number of cycles of operations of the ma chine for preventing the butting of a second piece of stock against the rear end of the first piece, thereby permitting the auxiliary feeding means to operate upon the latter.

27. In a stock-cutting machine, feeding mechanism comprising a feed roll, a gate for controlling the presentation of the material to be fed to the feed roll, means for automatically moving said gate out of the path of the feed movement of said material, and means for preventing a second piece of material from following so closely the pre ceding piece as to prevent said gate from returning to normal position after each piece of material fed passes beyond said feed roll.

28. A stock-cutting machine having in combination, cutting means, means for feeding stock to the cutting means, a gate for controlling the presentation of the stock to the feeding means, means for automatically movingv said gate out of the path of movenlent of the stock, a holding device for preventing the advance of a second piece of stock after a predetermined number of blanks have been cut from the preceding piece, and means controlled by said gate for retracting said holding device from the stock.

29. A stock-cutting machine having in combination, cutting means, means for feeding stock to the cutting means, a gate for controlling the presentation of the stock to the -feeding means, means for intermittently withdrawing the gate from operative posi tion to permit the feeding of the stock,

iolding device for preventing the advance of a second piece of stock, and means actu ated by the return of the gate to operative position after a piece of stock has passed beyond it for releasing the holding device from the succeeding piece of stock.

30. A stock-cutting machine having, in combination, cutting means, a main feed device for feeding stock to the cutting means, an auxiliary feed member for engaging the end of the stock after it leaves said device and pushing it toward said cutting means, a holding device for preventing the advance of a second piece of stock from interfering with the operation of said feed member, a timing device for controlling the operation of the holding device, means for maintaining the timin device inoperative until a second piece of material has been presented to the main feed device, and means for releasing the holding means.

31. A stock-cutting machine having, in combination, cutting means, means for feeding pieces of stock successively to the cutting means, a gate for controlling the pres-- entation of the stock to the feed means con. structed and arranged to be held open by the presence of stock within its path of movement, means tending to close the gate, means for yieldingly holding the gate against the stock as the stock is being advanced by the feeding means, means for automatically opening the gate, a holding device for arresting the advance toward the gate of a second piece of stock to prevent said piece from interfering with the closing movement of the gate, a timing device for cont-rolling the holding device, and means for maintaining the timing device inoperative when the gate is closed.

32. A stock-cutting machine having, in combination, cutting means, means for feed ing pieces of stock successively to the cutting means, a gate for controlling the presenta tion of the stock to the feed means cou-- structed and arranged to be held open by the presence of stock within its path of movement, means tending to close the gate, means for yieldingly holding the gate against the stock as the stock is being advanced by the feeding means, means for automatically opening the gate, a holding device for arresting the advance toward the gate of a second piece of stock to prevent said piece from interfering with the closing movement of the gate, a timing device for controlling the holding device, means for maintaining the timing device inoperative when the gate is closed, and means depend ing upon the pressence within the path of movement ofthe gate ofasecond piece of steel: for restoring the timing device to operative condition.

33. A stock-cutting machine, having, in combination, means for successively cutting blanks from a strip of stock, mechanism in cluding a pair of intermittently actuated feed rolls for feeding the stock to the cutting means, a stop projecting into the path oft-he stock, means for spacing the pieces of stock introduced in butting relation by the operator, and means for withdrawingfthe stop at the start of rotation of the feed rolls.

341. In a machine of the character described, means comprising a die for cutting blanks from sheet material, means comprising intermittentlyactuated feed rolls for feeding the sheet materialto the die, a stop arranged-to project into thepath of the material to position it properly with respect to the feed rolls and to be Withdrawn 'at the start of rotation of the feed rolls, and means for spacing an incoming piece of material from the preceding pieceso that the stop can operate to position theincoming piece of material.

35. In a machine of the character described, means comprising a die for cutting blanks from sheet material, means c0mprising intermittently actuated feed rolls for feeding thesheet material to the die,'a stop arranged to project into the path of the material to position it properly with respect to the feed rolls and to be withdrawn atthe'startof rotation of the feed rolls, and a member for engaging an incoming piece of material so as to make a space between .it and the preceding piece of material in which the stop can be projected to position .the incoming piece of material with respect to the feed rolls.

36. In a machine of the character described, meansfor operating uponsheets of material, means for feeding the material, and means for automatically spacing the sheets of material presented in abutting relation and for positioning the sheets properly with respect to the tirstmentioned means. 7

I. In a machine of the cha actor described, means for operating upon sheets of material, means for feeding the material, meansco operating with the feeding means for positioning the materialwith respect to the first-mentioned means, and means for spacing the successive sheets of material relatively to each other so. that the position;

ing means may operate effectively.

.38. In a maehinelof, the character described, means for cutting blanks from av-240s of the material presented in abutting rela-;

tion by the operator. i

' 39. In a machine of the character de scribed, means comprising a die for cutting blanks from sheet material, means comprising intermittently actuated feed rolls for feedingthe materialto the die, a stop arranged to project into the path of the mate-- rial and to be Withdrawn at the start of rotation of the feed rolls, the said stop achine of the character described, means for operating'upon sheets of material, means for feeding the sheets, a stop arranged to project into the path of the material toposition it properly with respect to the feeding means, and to be withdrawn at the beginning of the operation of the feeding means, and means for spacing an incoming piece of material from the preceding piece so that the stop canoperate to position said incoming piece.

41. In a machine of the character described, means for cutting blanks from sheet material, means for feeding the material to the cutting means, and means forlautomatically spacing sheets of material moving in abutting relation toward the feeding means.

42. In a machine of the character de scribed, meansfor cutting blanks from sheet material, means forfeeding the material to thecutting means, and a member arranged to engage a' surface ofthe incoming sheet of material for spacing successive sheets of the material relatively to each other so that they may be operated on separatelyby the cutting means. 7 1 7 4:3. In a machine of the character dese .cd, means for cutting blanks from sheetmaterial, means for feeding the material to the cutting means, a piercing member ar ranged to engage and hold an incoming sheet of the material to spaee'it' from 'th e' preceding sheet and operated in properly timed relat on to the feeding means so that the sheet may be presented to the, cutting means for predetermined cutting operations.

tln a machine of the character de scr1bed, means comprls ng a die for cutt ng blanks from sheet material, means comprising intermittently actuated feed rolls for feeding the material to the die, a stop arranged to project into the path of the material and to be Withdrawn at the start of rotation of the feed rolls, the said stop operating to position the material so that the latter Will be properly presented by the feed rolls to the die for the cutting of the first blank, and a piercing member .con-. trolled by the stop for engaging and holding the incoming sheets of material as they are presented in abutting relation by the operator to space each sheet from that immediately preceding so that the stop may engage the front end of each sheet in functioning as a positioning means.

45. In a machine of the character described, die having a flange extending laterally in a plane parallel with the plane of the cutting edge of the die a pair of die supporting plates adjustable toward and from each other to clamp the flange of the die, die holder, and means for securing the die su porting plates and the die to the holder.

l6. In a machine of the character described, a die having an integral flange extending laterally from the die in a plane parallel with the cutting edge of the die, a pair of die supporting plates having shoulders to engage and position the flange of the die, a die holder, a pair of bolts one on each side of the die operative to engage the flange of the die and the die holder to hold the die, the die supporting plates and the die holder assembled as a unit.

4 7. In a machine of the character described, a die having arectangular flange in a plane parallel With the plane of the cutting edge of the die, a pair of die supporting plates having each a shoulder to engage a straight edge of the flange so that said plates form a guideway in which the die is adjustable, a die holder, and means for adjustably securing the die supporting plates and the die vertically on the holder.

l8. In a machine or the character described, a die having a rectangular flange in a plane parallel-With the plane of the cutting edge of the die, a pair oidie supporting plates having each a shoulder to engage a straight edge of the flange so that said plates form a guideway in which the die is adjustable, a die holder, and means for adjustably securing the die supporting plates 7 and the die vertically on the holder, said means comprising two pairs of bolts and slotted portions of the die supporting plates whereby the die supporting plates are iicld in perfectalignment with respect to the flange of the die during all movements of adjustment.

ERASTUS E. WINKLEY. 

